You are a strong, independent woman. You are proud of your educational and professional accomplishments. You are at a place in your life where you are ready to get serious about finding a wonderful, intelligent, caring boyfriend who will hopefully become your devoted husband one day. After several unsuccessful long-term relationships, you have taken time to recuperate, take care of yourself and reevaluate your priorities. Now, after time away from the dating scene, you feel that you are ready to take several cautious steps into the online dating pool.

You have decided on joining an online dating service because you want to broaden your search for the man of your dreams. You appreciate how the service allows you to choose the age range, religion, geographical location and ethnic background of your potential matches. You are ready to put together a compelling dating profile and start looking for love, but you want to keep your personal safety and privacy your first priority.

Follow these safety and privacy tips to ensure a safe and enjoyable online dating experience.

1) When you write your profile, avoid sharing any information that could reveal your identity. Do not share your last name, your phone number, your email address or your home address. Do not share your place of employment, the name of your church, or the name of your health club. Many dating services have members create a “username,” which they use instead of your first name, so then you don’t even have to reveal your first name until you get to know someone well.

2) When you select photos to add to your profile, be extra careful to avoid revealing any personal information. People can gather a lot of information about someone by looking at their photos. Avoid posting photos of you standing in front of your house, you standing next to your car, or you with the sign of any event or club.

3) While communicating with your matches, exercise extra caution. Utilize the dating service to send emails and messages. Do not use your work email address or personal email address. When you get to the stage where you feel comfortable talking to a man on the phone, ensure that you are the one making the phone calls and arrange with your phone company to block your phone number. Do not reveal your phone number until after you meet the potential suitor and feel comfortable with him. If the match lives a long distance away from you and you won’t be able to meet for several weeks or months, only share your phone number with him after you have been emailing and messaging one another for at least several weeks and you have had several quality phone conversations with him. Remember that there are a variety of websites that can reveal your full name and home address when a person types in your home phone number.

4) Research each potential suitor carefully, especially before meeting him in person. Find out as much information about each man as you possibly can. Once you know his last name, you can use various government website to look into his background. Several websites allow you to perform a criminal record search on someone. Do a “Google search” with your match’s full name and see if your search generates any information. Ask your match important questions about his background, values and expectations before meeting him.

Once you have selected which online dating service to join, it is time for writing a captivating and humorous dating profile that will catch the attention of would-be suitors. Follow these guidelines to ensure that your profile stands out from the crowd.

(1) Create a clever and fun username. This is the name that other members will refer to you by, instead of you having to reveal your real first name. Think carefully while creating your username or “handle.” You want to create a name that is original, personal and inviting, without making it too long or complicated. Avoid names that are cliche or too cutesy, such as “YourFutureWife23″ or “GirlOfYourDreams31.” For safety reasons, do not use your real name in your username.

(2) Create a memorable tag line. A tag line is a one-line statement that introduces you to singles searching the online dating site. The tag line is usually featured prominently along side your primary photo and username when you appear in a potential suitor’s search list. Avoid using a clichΘd statement and opt instead for writing a one-liner that is insightful and creative. It is recommended that you change your tag line once in a while to keep your profile fresh and updated.

(3) Take time to seriously reflect upon what qualities and characteristics are most important to you in your future romantic partner. Think about what type of man you hope to attract into your life before your writing your dating profile. Reflect on the most essential personality traits that you need in a romantic partner and make a note of them to include in your profile. Consider also the traits or habits that you can’t stand in a partner, your “deal breakers,” as this will help you refine your search for Mr. Right. You should define the kind of relationship you are looking for.

(4) Carefully write your dating profile essay. Concentrate on the primary “About Me” section, which will be the first part that male matches will see when they arrive at your profile. Before writing, brainstorm in a journal or in a word processing document all of the important parts about yourself that you plan on incorporating into your “About Me” essay. List your personal interests, hobbies, general information about your education and career, and interesting details about your family and pet(s). After brainstorming your ideas, go back and decide upon the information that you think is the most entertaining and endearing. Create an interesting story using the important information about yourself that you have selected. You make wish to write about your favourite place, such as your family’s cottage or a state or provincial park. You should try to craft an amusing anecdote for your matches to read that will make them laugh and encourage them to remember your profile.